President Bush is gaining support among women and younger voters and commands strong support among veterans -- key constituencies that Democrat John Kerry has spent months trying to woo to his cause. The desertion, revealed by demographic patterns in national polls taken in recent weeks, points to a worrying trend for Kerry, who has seen his slim lead in national polls evaporate since last month's Republican National Convention in New York. "You've got a couple of groups you can't lose if you're John Kerry," Muhlenberg College pollster Christopher Borick said.

Peddrick Young has seen his share of elections. A veteran pol and a member of the Board of Commissioners in Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County, he is bracing for a bruising Election Night. "It'll be close," he said. "I've got a strong feeling it'll be close." Two weeks before Election Day, many Republican activists in one of the reddest of the state's 67 counties are tempering their hopes for victory with a shot of realism. They're optimistic that U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.

. 1. Christopher Lazzaro, 6, (left) and brother Benjamin, 3, both of Zionsville, listen to President Bush's speech in Lehigh Parkway in Allentown. Bush stuck to traditional campaign themes, including the economy, Social Security and the war in Iraq. . 2. President Bush asked Lehigh Valley voters to support state Sen. Charlie Dent in his campaign for Congress and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in his bid for re-election. . 3. President Bush greets supporters at a rally in Lehigh Parkway in Allentown.

It really was the economy, stupid. At least in Lehigh County and, by projection, the rest of Pennsylvania. An exit poll of 1,129 voters surveyed Tuesday by Muhlenberg College's Institute of Public Opinion showed that county voters who considered the flagging economy their biggest concern overwhelmingly supported Democrat John Kerry. Despite recent positive labor statistics and other signs, "people who came out of the polls were really pessimistic on the economy," said institute director and political science professor Christopher Borick.

President Bush plans to visit a Christmas collectibles factory in Bucks County Thursday and give a speech on economic policy to a crowd expected to number more than 1,000. Bush will speak at Byers Choice Ltd. on County Line Road in New Britain Township. The 12:30 p.m. speech will be open to the public, but tickets are needed for admission. One day later, Democrat John Kerry will appear at the Allentown Fairgrounds. His speech, too, will be open to the public with tickets. Gates will open at 3:30 p.m. Bucks County GOP Chairman Harry W. Fawkes said Bush campaign officials contacted his organization late last week to ask for the names of prosperous small businesses to host Thursday's Bush visit.

First lady Laura Bush touted her husband Friday as a patriotic, decisive, sensible leader fighting to make businesses flourish, families thrive, women achieve and terrorists vanish. In a campaign speech at East Stroudsburg University, Bush said George W. Bush deserves to be re-elected as president. "I have watched as my husband has led this country with strength and conviction through some of the most difficult struggles of our generation," Bush said as supporters chanted "four more years."

The race for the presidency remains as close as ever in Pennsylvania, with Democrat John Kerry holding a narrow five-point lead over President Bush in this coveted swing state. In the first canvass here since last month's Democratic National Convention in Boston, Kerry leads Bush 47 percent to 42 percent among registered voters, with 4 percent favoring independent candidate Ralph Nader, according to the survey by Quinnipiac University. That figure is virtually unchanged from the Connecticut university's last pulse-taking on July 14, which showed Kerry leading Bush 46-41 percent, with 5 percent of respondents supporting Nader.

How close is the presidential race in Pennsylvania? If you ask 410 voters, as Morning Call/Muhlenberg College pollsters have, Democrat John Kerry holds a one vote edge over Republican George W. Bush. Kerry and Bush each attract 45 percent of the voters, the pollsters found. Five percent prefer another candidate; the rest are undecided. Pollsters sampled opinions March 14-22. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points. The divisions reinforce Pennsylvania's status as one of 18 critical battleground states in this fall's election.

It really was the economy, stupid. At least in Lehigh County and, by projection, the rest of Pennsylvania. An exit poll of 1,129 voters surveyed Tuesday by Muhlenberg College's Institute of Public Opinion showed that county voters who considered the flagging economy their biggest concern overwhelmingly supported Democrat John Kerry. Despite recent positive labor statistics and other signs, "people who came out of the polls were really pessimistic on the economy," said institute director and political science professor Christopher Borick.

Slamming "not-so-swift boat veterans" and neo-conservatives who have helped the president create a "fantasy world," a former Air Force chief of staff on Tuesday urged Lehigh Valley voters to support Democrat John Kerry. Retired Gen. Merrill A. "Tony" McPeak said he is working this year to correct the mistake he made in 2000 by backing George W. Bush. "There is no doubt this country is weaker economically, militarily, diplomatically, politically and ethically," said the former fighter pilot who retired 10 years ago. "This administration has multiplied our enemies and divided our friends kind of a stupid strategy, if you think about it."

Friendly and feisty, mixing humorous asides with dire warnings about continued terrorism, Vice President Dick Cheney kicked off the final weekend of the campaign Saturday by firing up an already enthusiastic crowd at Nazareth Area High School. Pointing to the Osama bin Laden video released Friday, Cheney cautioned that terrorism remains a major threat to national security and he reiterated long-standing criticism about Democrat John Kerry's ability to deal with it. "With three days left in this campaign, the choices couldn't be more clear and the stakes more high," the Wyoming Republican said, promising to defeat terrorism and bin Laden if he and President Bush are re-elected.

Like an all-star pitcher coming off the disabled list in the final innings to hold a slim lead, Bill Clinton hit the trail Monday stumping for Democrat John Kerry as the presidential campaign enters its final full week. Looking slim and healthy in a dark suit, white shirt and green tie, the former president dubbed the Comeback Kid seemed a bit subdued just seven weeks after quadruple bypass surgery. But the adulation from the crowd of more than 10,000 jammed along the Ben Franklin Parkway also seemed to infuse Clinton with its own brand of tonic.

With nine days remaining before Pennsylvanians cast their ballots, Democrat John Kerry holds a razor-thin lead over President Bush in Pennsylvania, a new MorningCall/Muhlenberg College poll has found. Kerry leads Bush 48 percent to 46 percent among registered voters in a state the President lost by 200,000 votes four years ago. Thats a change from the 48 percent to 43 percent advantage Kerry had over Bush in the last Morning Call/Muhlenberg poll in May. It also shows a tighter race than the results of the Quinnipiac University poll released Friday that had Kerry with a 51 percent to 46 percent lead in the state.

Heading into the final 11 days of a fierce campaign, President Bush said Friday that five issues make this the most important election in history, with victory in the war on terror and economic prosperity riding on the outcome. "This election comes down to five basic issues for the American families, five issues of great consequence," the president said in a late morning speech at the Wachovia Arena. "Your family security, your budget, your retirement, your quality of life and the bedrock values that are so critical to our families and our future."

Democrat John Kerry's health care proposals would result in a massive new government program that would strip doctors and patients of their ability to make their own decisions and place that power in the hands of federal bureaucrats, President Bush warned during a campaign stop here Thursday. "At the debates, he said government had nothing to do with [his program]. I was standing right there," Bush told a capacity crowd at Hershey Stadium. "I remember it. I was standing right there.

Democrat John Kerry hit on characteristic themes and scares Tuesday -- including the possible privatization of Social Security -- before an enthusiastic and friendly crowd in the same theater that hosted President Bush two weeks ago. The Massachusetts senator again warned that Bush plans to move ahead with his privatization plans if re-elected, and called the upcoming election "the choice of a lifetime." "On Nov. 2, Social Security is on the ballot," Kerry said in a 45-minute speech at the Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

Tax laws prohibit the nonprofit NAACP from endorsing a presidential candidate. But the group's leaders and members have made it clear at their annual convention that they prefer the man they'll be hearing from today -- Democrat John Kerry. On Tuesday, leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People arranged for a surprise showing of the movie "Fahrenheit 9/11," a scathing criticism of the presidency of Republican George W. Bush. In introducing the movie, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume called it "factual."

At the Green Cafe in Bethlehem on Saturday afternoon, a cramped group of about 30 people heard perhaps the most unusual statement any presidential candidate will make this year: It's OK to vote for someone else. David Cobb, Green Party nominee for president, told supporters he will "respect" Green voters who choose Democrat John Kerry as the most likely person to beat Republican George W. Bush. Cobb concedes he has practically no chance to beat Kerry or Bush, who see Pennsylvania as a vital "swing state" that could determine who wins.

Slamming "not-so-swift boat veterans" and neo-conservatives who have helped the president create a "fantasy world," a former Air Force chief of staff on Tuesday urged Lehigh Valley voters to support Democrat John Kerry. Retired Gen. Merrill A. "Tony" McPeak said he is working this year to correct the mistake he made in 2000 by backing George W. Bush. "There is no doubt this country is weaker economically, militarily, diplomatically, politically and ethically," said the former fighter pilot who retired 10 years ago. "This administration has multiplied our enemies and divided our friends kind of a stupid strategy, if you think about it."

For the first time in U.S. history, voters in the presidential election Nov. 2 will carry to the polls a vivid image of American vulnerability: twin towers in flames, the smoke spreading over the Manhattan skyline. Three years after hijackers crashed commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing more than 3,000 people, terrorism will be for many voters the most important issue of the election. Not since World War II -- and perhaps never -- has a candidate's ability to protect the nation from attack figured so prominently in the selection of a president.